If you find bruising affecting bunched broccoli or broccoli crowns don’t look to the USDA Inspection Service to answer your questions. While being a trainer at the USDA’s Training and Development Center for years, it was obvious to me and the entire training staff that the inspectors were all over the board on whether to score this […]
“You can’t score defects on Florida Citrus!” I am sure everyone has heard this at one time or another. Is it true? Can you never score defects on Florida Citrus? Not really. Whether you are inspecting Oranges and Tangelos, Grapefruit or Tangerines from Florida, they will not be as clean in appearance as citrus from […]
Assume for a minute you are inspecting a load of lettuce. You come across some heads (See image below) that have a distinct discoloration affecting the veins and midribs. One thing you know for certain is the discoloration definitely materially affects the appearance of the head, thus you would score it as a defect. But what […]
Other than decay affecting the curds, keeping an eye out for discolored curds is the most common defect you will find. The longer the caulifloweris stored, the more likely the curds will oxidize, and discolor. The discoloration will appear in different stages, first appearing as a light tan or brown, then advancing in size and […]
Artichokes usually show very few defects. Always look carefully for decay affecting the stems, which may or may not be accompanied by mold growth. The most common defect you may find is surface discoloration. The discoloration will range from a medium brown color to a dark black. The area affected will range from a few […]
With the fall season in full swing, you may have some questions when receiving a load of pumpkins. Believe it or not, the USDA does have grade standards for pumpkins, titled, “United States Standards for Grades of Fall and Winter Type Squash and Pumpkin.” Although you may not encounter too many problems, with the most […]
With all the varieties of apples on the market, you may think it would be confusing to determine if the apples you are packing or receiving are making the US Grade Standards. Let’s take a look at Red Delicious, for example. If the Red Delicious are packed to meeting the US Extra Fancy Grade, the […]
With retailers selling watermelons by the individual melon (i.e. $3.99 per melon) receiving watermelons being uniformly sized is important. No one expects the consumer to choose a small watermelon on display if larger melons are available for the same price. Most of the times watermelons packed in cartons will be uniform in size. But when […]
Taking the heat out of freshly harvested romaine and leaf lettuces is essential. One of the methods commonly used is hydro-cooling. For the most part it is a very effective method used in the leaf lettuce industry. Unfortunately one of the drawbacks sometimes results in watersoaked leaves. As you can see from the image above the leaves affected […]
When inspecting plums it always a good idea to cut a few plums in each sample to look for internal discoloration. There is usually no external indication which plum might show the problem. As a common practice, I start cutting the plums with the most give, the riper plums in the sample. If those plums […]